There are eight teams left at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here are five of the headlines as the road of 16 is complete and we approach the quarterfinals.
5) What is the geographical breakdown of the remaining countries?
There are six teams remaining from Europe, and one country each from Africa and South America. The two non-European countries left did very well at the last World Cup as Argentina won the title and Morocco reached the semifinals. The six European countries in the quarterfinals are Norway, England, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain.
4) Who is the betting favourite?
France is the favourite at this time at -108. France previously won the 1998 and 2018 World Cup titles. In the round of 16, France defeated Paraguay 1-0 on a penalty by Mbappe in the 70th minute.
3) Trump’s efforts fall short.
Donald Trump did his best to help the United States and convince FIFA to overturn Balogun’s red card from the American game against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Balogun played the round of 16 match, but the United States still lost to Belgium 4-1 in Seattle. Charles De Ketelaere had a brace for the Belgians.
2) Who else had a round of 16 brace?
De Ketelaere was one of four players to have a round of 16 brace. The other three were Azzedine Ounahi in a 3-0 Morocco win over Canada, Erling Haaland in a shocking 2-1 Norway win over Brazil, and Jude Bellingham in an exciting 3-2 England win over Mexico.
1) Messi magic again.
Once again in the knockout round, Argentina faced adversity. After barely beating Cape Verde 3-2 in the round of 32, Argentina came back to beat Egypt 3-2 in the round of 16. The Argentinian hero on Tuesday was Messi, who scored the game-tying goal in the 83rd minute.
